Game or Sim?

[Guest av84fun]

<>Actually, in the "strict sense" MSFS is a game if Webster is deemed the authority on the definition of words. Date: before 12th century1 a (1) : activity engaged in for diversion or amusement :The above exactly describes MSFS. Any "game" can be participated in without, necessarily, seeking to "win" anything.But of course, this "game" we play is, in fact, a "flight simulator", but that is a distinction without a difference. If one were to play a PC software version of chess, for example, one would be playing chess, it would still be a game and it would still be a "simulation" of that game.Regards,Jim

[Guest av84fun]

<> I was an Elite user for many years. One of the early adopters actually. I'm a RW pilot with dozens of hours in Flight Safety International Level D sims.Meaning no disrespect whatsoever to Elite, and giving them credit for being very early to focus on flight dynamics, MFSF including its wide variety off sensational add-ons has long since become AT LEAST the equal of Elite from flight dynamics and guage performance points of view.The only difference is that Elite has taken the trouble and gone to the considerable expense of filing for PCADT designation from the FAA.MS has elected not to do so for whatever reasons (probably including legal exposure) but from a technology point of view, they could obtain that designation without breaking a sweat.Of course, the PCATD designation is entirely worthless unless you have a qualified flight instructor present with you and oh, by the way, the visuals are WAY behind those portrayed in MFSF and oh, by the way, it costs MANY MANY times more than MSFS when the number of planes available is factored into the equation.As for Level D simulators not realistically portraying such things as scenery, that is absolutely not correct. The scenery in newer level D sims such as Flight Safety's VITAL 9 systems, can be VERY realistic featuring 30,000 polygons and 4000 pixels per channel...which is why you can fly right seat on a commercial airliner in spite of possibly never having set foot in the actual aircraft.Regards,Jim

[Guest av84fun]

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[Guest av84fun]

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[Guest av84fun]

<>In MSFS? What conditions might they be?Regards,Jim

[dnunes 1]

It is funny to see that many FS users (simmers?, gamers?) claim that it is not a simulator because it lacks modelling accuracy and is not accepted as logtime for IFR.Besides the statements of several real world pilots, who support the concept that FS is a simulator, I would like to stress that the US Navy has been using FS for a long time for initial IFR traning of their pilots. I doubt the Navy would call it a "game". Recently, I think in this same forum, I read that an Israeli aviation company was using FS, in a virtual airline environment, to train their new Boeing pilots in ATC procedures.As a conclusion I would invite you to visit the site:http://www.starksravings.com/linktrainer/linktrainer.htmand say whether you consider the Link Trainer was a true simulator or not. Apart from the (limited) movement it certainly was very far from the FS capabilities. However it was in display in a professional Simulation Conference, sponsored by the military, I attended some years ago in Orlando, US.Regards,

[Guest artmartin]

Jeremy, here's hoping you never mix alcohol and nailguns.Art

[LuisFelizTirado 33]

Great question, Andrew. It comes up once a year or so, and always stirs up the passions, but in a friendly way.There is nothing wrong with games. Games are one of the most important, perhaps the principal, activity of humans and many, many other animals. You might say that we come into life in order to play (and to reproduce, but often that seems like a game.)There is a lot of nobility to games. They can provoke passion - and hooliganism. They can be enthralling - and keep you up all night long. They can make your heart beat faster and your adrenalin flow. No, there is nothing wrong with games at all.Flight Simulator is a game. A great game that we all love here on this forum. It is our hobby, our pastime, our principal game for many of us. We spend a large part of our lives playing this game, seated in front of our monitors, pulling a joystick around. We are armchair pilots, even those who are real pilots at other times. We pretend that a small illuminated screen is a reflection of the real world and we love it. No, there is nothing wrong with games, I would say.And Flight Simulator is a wonderful game that satisfies our soul, that lets us fulfill that primal and primeval wish to fly, to float along in the air, to free ourselves from our terrestrial bonds. A friend who just recently finished bulding his airplane stood up in his cockpit and shouted, "Free, free at last." That is the essence of this game that is Flight Simulator.Best regards.Luis

[Guest Zevious Zoquis]

Yes, I've seen quite a few training simulators that were far less detailed and complex than FS9. In fact, if you compared FS9 to really even the most advanced flight training sims from as recently as a few years ago I'd bet it's considerably more refined. In the final analysis, its a game in the sense that it is something that most of us enjoy for entertainment purposes, but a sim in the sense that it endeavors to represent specific aspects of reality with some fidelity.

[Guest DK8290]

I always thought it simulated a game ?! heheIn the end it's up to the user really.Although , technically I've always thought of a game as having set goals and the ability to win ome sortof goal (the definition of the word seems to support this).If anything FS2004 is computer software with a variety of meanings and uses to many people and that's the beauty of it ... it is so open-ended , even the same person can use it for various things in different weeks or whenever it tickles their fancy!

[Yoda967 23]

I'm with you...the beauty of this afotware is that it lets the user decide how deeply to be involved.It's a great hobby, either way.

[Speedbird 11 2]

>>The cutting lawn thing will only happen if someone makes a>DC8-63 system like the PS 1.3. Which in my opinion is the only>simulator worth its category. ;-)But not much good if one wants to fly VFR in a DC-3 (for example). :-) Best,Michael

[Speedbird 11 2]

>I always thought it simulated a game ?! heheTrue.>If anything FS2004 is computer software True.>with a variety of meanings and uses to many people and that's the beauty of it it is so open-ended , even the same person can use it for various things in different weeks or whenever it tickles theirfancy!True again. It's just PC software that, like much such software, can be put to a variety of uses. The basic program (as its name suggests) simulates flight for the purposes of gaming. If one takes the game seriously, then it can simulate flight for the purposes of doing so. The add-in aircraft don't really add much to the basic idea, but do similar in relation to specific aircraft (real or imaginary). So they simulate a given aircraft for the purposes of gaming, but those who take it seriosuly can see it as simulating the aircraft for the purposes of doing so.But clearly the accuracy of either simulation is a different question, and this concept goes way beyond FS 2004 (but most people do not get as hung up on the subject as FS 2004 forum users).Best wishes on a really good answer.Michael

[neil0311 366]

Are you having fun? Do you enjoy using FS2004, no matter what you or I call it? If so, then who cares and what does it matter? Having said that and for the record, it's called "Flight Simulator 2004" not "Flight Game 2004", and it does simulate flight. Some may want to argue the degree to which it does this, but that's immaterial to the discussion. Is it as good as a level-D simulator that costs 7 figures? Of course not, but it's still a simulator.

[Guest Ozark Dogfighter]

Hehe, thankssince I have put aside drink, and rarely nail by hand (much less with a gun), then I don't think I have to worry.At least I don't think so...-JeremyThe Ozark DogfighterHappy Flying!